More Canadians than ever before are turning to food banks to make ends meet in recession-ravaged households, Food Banks Canada reports.

Close to 800,000 individuals, roughly the equivalent of New Brunswick's population, visited food banks in March, according to the HungerCount 2009 survey released Tuesday.

That represents an increase of 120,000 users – or about 18 per cent – over March 2008.

"This is the largest ever year-over-year increase in food bank use on record," Katherine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, a charitable organization that represents most of the country's nearly 700 food banks and works to raise awareness of hunger. (emphasis added)

Sobering food for thought, pardon the pun, as we're spun about the government's stimulus plan creating jobs. Those record numbers are striking.